Chapter Nine

School the next day was... for lack of a better word, weird.

The usual buzz of chatter in the halls had lowered to hushed whispers and sneaky glances. Groups of friends stood huddled together, and I saw a few counselors buzzing about, ushering students through the halls and to their offices. Angela, standing close to me, looked uneasy.

"What do you thinks going on?"

I shook my head and shrugged. As we walked towards her locker, Jessica and Mike caught sight of us and Mike flagged us down to where he and Jess were seated, along with Tyler. I was beginning to quickly leave and drag Angela with me, but she urged me towards them as she tugged on my sleeve.

"What's going on?" She asked. "What's wrong with everyone?"

Everyone looked a bit unsure and I could see Jessica look a little uneasy. I looked at Tyler's face, which was shielded by his long, dark hair. Everyone just sat around in silence for a moment before Jessica burst out sobbing and shot off to the girl's bathroom.

"What's wrong?" When no one answered me, I grabbed Mike's shoulder and squeezed. "Mike, tell me."

Tyler broke the silence when Mike didn't. "It's Lauren," he said, finally. "She's... missing."

I furrowed my eyebrows and Angela frowned. Angela looked at Mike. "Missing?"

"Last night," Tyler started, standing up," she left Jessica's house." He looked at Mike, who was just sitting, staring. "We offered to drive her home, you know, because her car was in the shop, but she decided to walk-"

"-her house isn't even that far," Mike interrupted. "It wouldn't have even been a problem for us to take her."

Tyler shifted. "Yeah. But... yeah, she walked. It's just a few blocks, too. Just a few blocks..." Tyler shot a glance to the girl's bathroom. "But anyways, she walked, and we went to pick her up this morning-"

"-cop cars everywhere," Mike said, shaking his head. "Her mom comes outside, screaming. She's all like,"where is she?" and Tyler and Jess and me are confused as shit. She's just yelling at us, and then she grabs Jess and starts shaking her." Mike looked up at Angela and I. "Crazy. We didn't know what she was talking about until this cop tells us that Lauren never made it home. Never even made it to her block."

"That's what everyone's talking about," Tyler said. "With that maniac running loose in town, everyone knows it's him."

"But he only attacks junkies," Angela argued. "Lauren could be... it's not possible... it's not certain..."

"You know, I heard about what happened to that first girl- the first body. My dad has cops friends, and he said that the details they released to the press aren't true. He said the guy actually cut her up. Like, he chopped her into little pieces."

"Stop it, Mike," Angela snapped, but he shrugged.

"It's just, can you imagine that happening to Lauren? Jess would be fucking crushed."

My throat felt dry and hoarse and my tongue felt like sandpaper.

Before anyone else could say anything, the bell rang for first period and Mike sighed, standing to stretch. "I have to check on Jess. I'll catch you guys later."

I tugged on Angela's sleeve and said bye to Tyler. "Lauren, huh?" I murmured thoughtfully. "What are the odds?"

Angela shot me a look. "What are you thinking, Bella?"

I didn't say anything, unsure how to say it, honestly. "It's just... Lauren's not the nicest person, Ang." I turned towards her. "You and I both know that."

"Are you saying we shouldn't be caring about her, then?" Angela asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

I shook my head furiously. "No, it's just... aren't people kind of looking in the wrong direction. I mean, a criminal doesn't just suddenly change their MO. It's possible that it could be, well, one of us."

Angela didn't like that. Her face flushed and she looked around. "Don't say that, Bella."

I rolled my eyes and we started walking again. An uncomfortable silence had settled I'm between us as we walked to AP Biology together.

"They'll find her," I said, attempting to console Angela and smoothe over the tension. I offered a kind smile and squeezed her arm reassuringly. "Lauren's... tough. Just give it a day or two. She'll come popping up in no time."

But even then, with recent events, even I was unsure.

Angela and I didn't drive home together after school. Instead, she opted to drop Jessica off. Mike stopped me at my locker, asking if I needed a ride, and I declined. I could walk.

Except, once I was one of the few people left, I was unsure of myself. I'd never been, well, actually afraid to walk. My home's just a mile away. It's about a fifteen minute walk. I'd walked it about a hundred times.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. There was a maniac on the loose and I thought that walking home was a good idea.

I was thinking over whether or not to call up Mike and ask for a ride when when a voice shouted at me from across the lot. "Yo!"

I turned around and a tall, russet skinned boy was hanging out his window, a grin plastered on his face. I must've looked dumbstruck, so he pointed a finger and said,"Nice scar!"

Recognition shot through me. "Oh!" I shifted awkwardly between feet. "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

He took the chance to get out of his car and approach. He held out his hand. "I'm Jacob. Jacob Black." He squinted at me and smiled warmly. "I know you, though." I looked a bit confused and his eyes widened and he flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, shit. Sorry, that was creepy." He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I know you, because your Sheriff Swans daughter."

I relaxed and I let a smile grace my features, taking his hand in mine. "Well, it's nice to meet you Jacob."

He chuckled lightly. His palms were warm. "Well, I couldn't help but notice you look a little... lost." He gestured to the empty lot. "I can give you a lift if you want."

I bit my lip with apprehension. My encounter would Edward, along with the recent disappearance of Lauren, made me wary about accepting rides from strangers.

"Actually... I can, um, call someone..."k trailed off, uncertain. Then, I looked up at Jacob's beaming face and caved. "O-okay. Sure. Thanks."

He jerked his head in the direction of his truck and unlocked the passenger door for me before he climed into the driver's seat. As he pressed the gas, the car lurched and sputtered before jumping forward. "Piece of shit," Jacob muttered.

I laughed. He turned towards me. "So, where am I going?"

As I gave directions, Jacob took the initiative to start up with small talk, asking me a series of small, polite questions. But then, he asked one that made me pause momentarily. "How'd you get that bruise?"

The question flew over my head. "Huh?"

He nodded. "Looks pretty fresh from here. What happened?"

I brushed the light purple skin with my fingers, then let out a sigh. "A branch. I went hiking with some friends over the weekend."

I was expecting him to move on to questions, but his dark eyes just stared on the bruise, and he opened his mouth like he wanted to continue asking about it, but he decided against it and continued driving.

Finally, he pulled up at my house. He out his car in park and shifted so his body was turned towards me. "Home sweet home."

"Yeah." As I was getting out, I closed my eyes, berating myself for forgetting to thank him. "Hey, thanks for the ri-"

"Are you busy Wednesday night?"

I looked at him quizzically. "What?"

"Are you busy... Wednesday night?"

I shook my head. "Why?"

A light flush tinted his cheeks. "There's this thing, at La Push-" he broke off to gesture towards his long hair,"-I'm Native, and every month or so we have these powwows... I was just wondering if, maybe, you'd like to come?"

It was my turn to blush. Jacob watched me.

Huh?

"It's only two to three hours. You'll he home by nine, maybe ten. It starts at sundown."

I managed to knock some sense into myself and the gears in my brain started turning again. "Oh! Yeah, yeah that's cool." I laughed, blushing furiously. "That sounds great!"

Jacob looked like he couldn't believe it himself. "Wow, great." He looked down at the steering wheel, then back to me. "I can pick you up right after school."

"That sounds nice, Jacob." He nodded and I closed his door, thanking him again.

As he disappeared down the road, I walked inside with an extra hop in my stride, any memory of Edward or Lauren erased from my mind.

I had a sort-of-kind-of-not-really date with a boy.

A cute boy.

For the first time, I actually felt like a teenager and not some outlier

Things were looking up.

Really, they were.

Hey Guys! So, first off, I just wanna say thank you guys so much for reviewing and consistently showing ya girl some love. Because of your guys involvement and feedback, I've actually been growing more and more excited about this story!

Second, I wanna let you guys know that I have a tumblr! So, if you guys want to ask me questions about the story or whatever, you guys can either PM me on here, or go to my tumblr, which seaofn0thing! So, yeah!

And for the time being, this chapter kind of, sort of, marks the end of the Bella & Edward arc. At least, for a few chapters. But don't worry, Edward will be back AND ready to cause a shit storm in Bella's life again.

xoxo